One-Pot Pork with Orange, Olives and Red Wine

Bonjour les foodies! 

Yesterday, I really fancied eating comfort food as it is very cold at the moment! I decided to cook this One-Pot Pork and it was delicious. I really felt satisfied and happy after eating it - it is a winner. I have also served it with some Yorkshire Pudding and greens to bring some color to it! 

For this recipe, you will need (serves 4 people): 

- 800gr of Pork shoulder, cut into chunky cubes

- 300gr of shallots, peeled and only the root end cut

- 1 onion thinly sliced

- 3 bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme

- 2 tbsp of plain flour

- 5 garlic cloves

- 400ml of red wine (I used a Bordeaux)

- 350ml of chicken stock

- 1 canned of chopped tomatoes (400gr ones)

- 800gr of new potatoes (I used baby new potatoes but it is a bit of a pain to peel so maybe use large new potatoes), peeled and halved in their length

- Juice and zest of 1 orange

- 70gr of dry black olives

- 85gr of sundried tomatoes in oil (Keep the oil as you will use it to cook the meat and onions)

Heat 1 tbsp of the sundried tomato oil in a flameproof and ovenproof casserole dish. Toss the pork cubes in the flour, tap off any excess and brown them in the oil. If you don't have enough room, do it in 2 batches and put more oil if you need to. When it's done, put them aside in a large bowl or plate. 

Add another tbsp of oil in the dish and cook the onion, shallots and bay leaves for about 5 mins. Stir the sundried tomatoes and garlic and cook for another minute. Put them aside with the pork. 

In the same dish, add the red wine, the orange juice and the zest. Boil it for 5 mins. Put the meat, onions, shallots back in. 

Heat your oven to gas 3/160C/140C fan. Stir the chicken stock, the canned tomatoes, the olives and the potatoes into the dish and make sure the potatoes are submerged by the liquid. Cover and leave a slight gap to one side then cook for 2,5 hours. The meat will be extremely tender and the potatoes cooked perfectly. 

I have boiled some green beans and broccoli. Don't forget to make some Yorkshire puddings as they complemented the dish very well!

Bon appétit!! 

Pork Fillet with a Camembert Sauce

Bonjour à tous! 

Today, the froggy will give you the recipe of Pork Fillet with a Camembert Sauce. It is very tasty, easy and cheesy. I hope you will try it at home and will like it! 

À vos fourneaux! (Get cooking!)

You will need (for 2 persons): 

- 1 pork fillet 

- 20 gr of butter

- 10 cl of white wine

- 150 ml of creme fraiche

- 1/4 of a Camembert

- Salt and Black pepper

Cut you pork fillet into slices of 2 to 3 centimeters.

In a big frying pan, melt the butter and cook the slices 3 minutes on each side at a medium heat. You can put salt and black pepper. 

Once cooked, remove them from the pan and keep them warm (you can put them in a plate and wrap it with foil). 

Keep the same pan on a low heat and remove as much fat as possible (keep a tiny bit of it as it will make the taste even better) and deglaze with the white wine. (poor the white wine in the pan and stir it in the pan by using a wooden spoon - get all brown deposit from your pan with your wine)

When you have deglazed the pan, pour the creme fraiche in the pan along with the camembert cut in small cubes. Heat it until the cheese has melted, stir well and you can add more black pepper and salt if you need to. (Taste is first!)

Divide your pork fillet slices onto 2 plates and top your slices with the camembert sauce! 

You can serve it with some sauteed potatoes and roasted vegetables. 

Bon appétit! 

Afternoon Tea at Ladurée

Do you know Ladurée? What a place! Please go and try their delicious cakes and pastries! It is also known as the inventor of the macaron...it is just heaven! I know it's not cheap but it's a very special treat worth saving the pennies for.

We went to Ladurée in Harrods this afternoon to drink tea and eat cakes! 

I had a Saint Honoré Rose-Framboise

Virginie had a Corolle Feuilletée Caramel

As I am a foodie, I also had a salted caramel macaron and Virginie chose the new bubblegum one. The smell  was amazing! We also had tea (Red Berries "Fruits Rouges" and Almond "Amande")

I am going to try to make a Saint Honoré tomorrow as it is such a French classic. I want to try to bake it! I will give you the recipe, but if you don't like raspberry or rose water you could substitute with chocolate or whatever you prefer. 

In the meantime, enjoy the photos! 

Avocado and Chorizo Salad + Beauty Tip!

                                                              Bonjour everybody!
Today, I want to give you a lovely salad recipe that I love making at least once a week! I put everything good in it : protein, carbs, vitamins etc...just go for it and it's very easy to make. I will give you a beauty tip at the end too.

For the salad you will need: (2-3 servings):

- Bay Gem salad or any green leaves you may have in the fridge
- 6 or 7 cherry tomatoes or another type
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 chorizo
- 3 - 4  baby potatoes
- 1 shallot or red onion
- 2 eggs

To make your vinaigrette, in a deep bowl, add salt and pepper, 1 tsp of mustard and mix it with 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar. Once the mustard is well mixed with the vinegar, add 3 tbsp of oil (you can add olive oil if you want but I prefer normal oil) and mix until thicken.

When this is done, mix all the vegetables that you would have diced or cut as you wish, together.

In a pan, fry for 5 minutes some slices of chorizo. Don't add any butter or oil as all the fat from the chorizo will come out in the pan! Watch out not to burn it though! When cooked, set aside and remove as much fat as possible with some kitchen paper.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in small cubes. Rinse them thoroughly so the starch can go away then dry them with some kitchen paper.

In a pan, heat slowly 10gr of butter and 1 tbsp of oil. When the butter has nicely melted, add the potatoes and cover your pan so the humidity cook the inside of your potatoes. Add salt and pepper and you could also add a bit of garlic.Toss them regularly and let them cook for about 10 mins or until brown and cooked inside. When they are cooked inside, you can remove the lid so they get a nice crispy coat! add butter or oil if you think it's needed. When cooked, set aside.

Boil some water, add some salt and add the 2 eggs. The cooking is as your liking: If you want them cooked on the outside but a bit runny in the inside, cook them for 5 mins. If you prefer proper boiled eggs, then 10 mins will be fine!

Toss all the vegetables and chorizo with the vinaigrette. Add a bit of shallots cut finely or red onion if you prefer. Serve in a plate and I personally add the potatoes at the end on top of the salad and the egg cut in half.

Enjoy! 

Beauty Tip : Avocado Face Mask if you have dry skin or it could give you a nice glow!

If you have a ripe avocado in the fridge and you don't know what to do with it or if you have too much, use it to make your own Face Mask!

You will need 1/2 avocado, 1 tbsp of natural honey, 1 tbsp of natural yogurt and some cucumber if you want some left!

Mash the avocado until creamy. Add 1 tbsp of honey to the avocado mash, the honey will kill the germs on the skin and reduce swelling. Put the tbsp of yogurt which will act as a cleanser. Cut 2 slices of cucumber.

Apply the avocado mask on your skin for about 15 mins + place the cucumber over your eyes.

Rinse thoroughly with warm water at the end and dry gently.